Turkey’s Foreign Ministry: Ankara doesn’t recognize annexation of Crimea

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey stated this in a press release issued on March 16.

“Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula was annexed by the Russian Federation following the illegitimate referendum held four years ago today. We reiterate that we do not recognize the de-facto situation caused by this act which is a violation of international law and confirm our support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine,” reads the statement posted on the ministry’s website.

The ministry stressed that Turkey will continue to follow the developments in Crimea, particularly the situation of Crimean Tatar Turks.

Earlier, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed that the normalization of relations between Turkey and Russia do not mean that the position of Ankara on the issue of Crimea had changed.

iy